Hi,

I have just installed the RM 6.22.1 software on an E420r server running Solaris 10.

My problem is that the application itself: /usr/lib/osa/bin/rm6 won't run as a regular user. If I try to run it using su - I get an error message saying that it cannot open the display 0:0.

On linux I am able to run apps with ease while su'd in so I'm guessing it must be a setting in a config file somewhere. I tried Google'ing but got no where as my search parameters where pretty vague as I'm not even sure what to call this problem.

If anyone knows how to run this software or can help me run it from su I would really appreciate the help!

Many thanks

Use "su" instead of "su -" as the latter reset the environment variables by design.

Many thanks, jlliagre!

I was just wondering what the difference was between: su root, su -, and su. In linux the borders are more blurred I guess as I can launch apps from su - also with Debian based distro's from su root.

I don't know if it's OS specific: BSD, Solaris, Linux, AIX, HP-UX but certainly Solaris behaves quite differently sometimes, almost like it's being extra strict with syntax definitions etc?

Actually, the behavior you observe is due to a patch some (all?) Gnu/Linux distributions apply to the FSF coreutil source code. That original code contains a su command that behaves like the Solaris one (and probably AIX, HP-UX and perhaps BSDs).

This patch is convenient but it is unfortunate the manual pages do not give a clue about it ...

I had to download Red-Hat patches to figure-out why the DISPLAY variable was preserved despite what the manual page was stating.

I see, well that makes sense. So basically Linux behaviour is slightly different from the main UNIX based systems.

Thanks again!

Linux behaviour is that case even different from what its own manual pages states ...

Well the answer to that is that it shouldn't be, however some application and service builds are distribution specific.

Debian does alot of customization for example with certain services like the Exim MTA.

Basically meaning that yes CLI syntax is going to be different but only by a small amount; it will also apply to config files which whos services have been patched and compiled in a slightly different manner while being wrapped up into specific package formats - .deb .rpm etc.

Also the standard behaviour amongst different distributions varies also, like su root in Debian will give you the same access as su - in say RedHat or CentOS or Fedora.

A really good example and something I really like with Debian is the /etc/network/interfaces file which allows you to configure any kind of local network interface with relative paramters, dhcp/static addresses, default router, broadcast address etc. While with non-Debian based distros this file does not exist and hence the only way to set the interface is to eithe use the ifconfig command which I think has an option to save the config or to use the GUI interface front end for the network config.

Reading this: http://www.linuxheadquarters.com/how...rkconfig.shtml
just now out of interest RH line stores the network config in: /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

So yes Linux is slightly different then what the manuals claim and also different within the distros too. Ironically the manual could've been written by someone but then the command adapted by someone else that later didn't update the man page!

This is precisely what happened in that particular case.
The command and manual page have been written by the FSF.
Someone at Redhat patched the Gnu su command seven years ago to add a convenient functionality but failed to update the manual page.

Well glad to have helped you in this case even if it wasn't anything technical!

I mean take the netstat command:

Linux: netstat -tap (tcp, all, program)

Solaris: netstat -aP tcp (all, protocol {type})

Ok the manual pages are different but same command different syntax.

Even though all these systems we are currently discussing are UNIX based but each project has flavoured it differently, kind of like ice cream; chocolate, vanilla, strawberry are all icecream but taste different according to their flavour.